T Natarajan Could Prove To Be The X-Factor For Team India At The Death: VVS Laxman

Post the retirements of the likes of Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, and Irfan Pathan, Team India has grappled with the lack of left-arm pacers at the elite level. The Men in Blue have tried the likes of Barinder Sran and Khaleel Ahmed in the past few years but with little success. However, their search might well have ended with the emergence of Tamil Nadu and SunRisers Hyderabad pacer, T Natarajan.

T Natarajan impressed one and all with his ability to nail in yorkers at will in the recently concluded edition of the Indian Premier League. Having impressed with his performances in Tamil Nadu Premier League and domestic cricket, T Natarajan emulated those exploits to the hilt at the IPL, spearheading Bhuvneshwar Kumar-sans SunRisers Hyderabad bowling attack, especially at the death.

Natarajan turned heads as he knocked over the likes of AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni with his pinpoint accuracy throughout the season. The rookie fast bowler earned a well-deserved call-up to the Indian team for the tour of Australia after spinner Varun Chakravarthy was ruled out due to injury.

And, the former Indian batsman and SunRisers Hyderabad mentor, VVS Laxman feels that the left-arm pacer could turn out to be the X-factor for the Virat Kohli-led unit at the death in the shortest format of the game.

“With the T20 World Cup scheduled next year – if you look at the Indian team, it requires someone good at the death. It is great to see the likes of Mohammed Shami and Navdeep Saini bowl with such confidence in the death. Natarajan being a left-armer will be the X-factor,” VVS Laxman told Sportstar.

‘T Natarajan has the mindset and the confidence of executing yorkers’- VVS Laxman

T Natarajan has made a name for himself thanks to his penchant to deliver consistent yorkers but Laxman feels that the left-arm pacer has a plethora of subtle variations at his disposal which includes a sharp bouncer off-cutter, slower one, and the ability to take wickets with the new ball.

“Natarajan was always known for those yorkers – even in the TNPL. But, I must say he got a lot of variations which he didn’t use in the IPL. He has a sharp bouncer, slower one, off-cutter and has the wicket taking ability with the new ball,” Laxman explained.

The former Indian batsman also went on to laud the fast bowler’s mindset and the immense self-confidence in nailing yorkers on a consistent basis, besides adding that his dismissal of AB de Villiers under extreme pressure in the 2020 IPL eliminator was the pick of all the wickets that he claimed in the recently concluded season.

“Essentially, Natarajan has the mindset and the confidence of executing yorkers which we generally believe to be the toughest to deliver. And, he has done consistently and exceedingly well through the IPL, the pick of them being the dismissal of RCB’s AB de Villiers under pressure.” Laxman signed off.

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